Philadelphia, PA – Abril 30, 2025 – Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, announced over $9 million in PennVEST funding for a lead service line replacement project in West Philadelphia. This project will include the replacement of lead and galvanized steel drinking water service lines with new copper service lines to 950 households in West Philadelphia neighborhoods, including Belmont, Wynnefield, Overbrook, and Eastwick.
“Every household in Pennsylvania should have access to clean, contaminate-free drinking water,” said Senator Hughes. “This lead remediation project is foundational to the health and well-being of our neighborhoods. I’m proud to see the state invest in removing old, lead service lines in communities in West Philadelphia and ensure that residents can rely on their local infrastructure. The best-case scenario for our infrastructure is when residents don’t need to think twice about it.”
Funding for the project was approved for the City of Philadelphia during PennVEST’s Abril 23, 2025, quarterly board meeting and is supported by the Federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act. According to PennVEST, the project will commence on Enero 15, 2026.
The goal of the project is to remove all galvanized and leaded water service lines to provide direct water quality improvements to the system’s customers. The project is consistent with U.S. EPA and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection initiatives to remove lead containing lines from the public water supply system.
The PennVEST funding for the West Philadelphia project was announced with 31 other awards for drinking water and wastewater projects across 23 counties totaling $242.8 million. The other projects include replacing lead service lines, rehabilitating aging drinking water and wastewater systems, upgrading service capabilities, extending service to more communities, and reducing environmental contaminants through compliance with current regulatory levels.
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